Tesla is laying down the law on all new vehicles it sells that will be used for commercial purposes. The California-based electric car maker has revealed that these vehicles will be restricted from using its Supercharger network to avoid abusive use by owners. The company has already updated its legal page to reflect this change in policy, but with commercial operators of Tesla vehicles still using these Superchargers for a whole range of other purposes, the automaker could take “additional action” to protect the availability of the Superchargers.

“This new policy could affect a lot of owners, specifically those who operate commercial fleets of Tesla vehicles”

While I understand Tesla’s rationale of trying to prevent abusive use of its Supercharger network, this new policy could affect a lot of owners, specifically those who operate commercial fleets of Tesla vehicles. In addition to taxi fleets, Tesla’s are being used for ride-sourcing or ride-sharing, delivery and transport vehicles, and even government purposes. If their use of the Supercharger network is curbed because of this policy, it could lead to these fleets not being able to function up to their full capacity.

But there is a part about this that feels like Tesla’s hands are being forced. The company initially created the expanding Supercharging network to allow owners the opportunity to travel long distances. But as is the case with giving too much of something to the masses, some owners have abused the purpose of the Superchargers by using them for a variety of purposes, including charging on shorter trips.

“Some owners have abused the purpose of the Superchargers by using them for a variety of purposes, including charging on shorter trips.”

The company already loosely adopted the policy, saying that “if you charge your vehicle in a manner that does not comply with this Supercharger Fair Use Policy, we may ask you to modify this behavior. We may also take additional action to protect the availability of Superchargers for their intended purpose, such as limiting or blocking your vehicle’s ability to use Supercharger stations.”

It’s going to be interesting how this policy is adopted and followed moving forward. It’s a tricky thing to curb the use of the Supercharger network among those who probably rely on them the most. Let’s hope that this gets cleared up sooner than later.